Jamie Sterling in Chile
A recent update from Matuse Family Member Jamie Sterling. For more knowledge on Jamie Sterling and the rest of the Matuse Family, kindly CLICK HERE.
It’s been almost a month spent in Chile. We surfed various spots in the South from being fogged in at Matanza to carving it up at Buchipureo’s forgiving long left point. I had one day of giant surf or semi big surf. Punta De Lobos in Pichilemu got as big as 15 Ft one evening. Too bad the conditions were so haggard from a strong 30 knot north wind. We went out to Punta De Lobos for a gander. It was super bumpy and challenging. I caught some super scary rides and was going so fast over the choppy surf. Mark Visser flew over from Ausstralia to surf with me. Hats off to him for his effort. One of these days we will score together. It was another great Chinese fire drill and more training for the two of us.
At the moment I have that surf stoked/surf out feeling going. It will probably be 2 weeks before I surf any kind of real waves again. Right now we are staying at Mando’s apartment in Santiago. Before this we were at his cabin in Buchipureo for a week. It’s awesome hanging out with Mando! He’s a super mellow older guy who has a two daughters and two twin boys. He was recently divorced. His children are a bit older now, allowing Mando more time to surf again. He surfs with a goofy-foot smooth style. He has traveled all over Chile surfing and is probably one of the most knowledgeable surfers in the country. As well as the coolest!
This trip has been great in learning about all the different point breaks in the South. It was my first time traveling in the South. I have a better understanding of the waves in Chile as a whole. I have previously been to Northern Chile 3 times before this trip. I prefer southern Chile. Its much more beautiful and quiet. The South of Chile is old world to the fullest still! The local fishermen still use two huge Ox to pull their authentic Chilean boats up the beach. It’s their equivalent two a modern quad motorcycle. You can find a variety of waves south of Santiago. I often surfed with no more then 5 guys out and sometimes by myself. The waves I rode were the longest leg burning rides of my life.
Next on my plate is getting my 15 Ft. enclosed trailer packed and ready to ship to Puerto Escondido. I’ll be shipping my ski along with some of Balti’s things down to Puerto to permanently live there. I’ll be flying down to Puerto for a 2 month stay. Super excited! Plenty of warm water barrels await Ariel and I. Ariel will continue to document my surf sessions and create webisodes as well as collect footage to one day create a movie on my surf exploits.
July 18, ’09, 9 am mid flight from Dallas, Texas to LAX…Small change in plans since I last wrote the previous blog. Upon departing from Chile yesterday, Rusty Long and I were monitoring a serious 19 second interval swell to hit Puerto Escondio on Fri July 24. After closely reviewing all our reliable weather forecasting sites we both booked tickets to fly down to Puerto Escondido on Tues, July 21. It’s on!! Swell, period, and winds look perfect. For me it’s going to be a strike mission. I’ll fly down with Rusty and Ariel on Tues, July 21 and fly back Fri, afternoon July 24. Why so short? I have to be in Huntington Beach for the US open to sign Autographs for Invisalyn. It will all be worth it!! I forgot to mention as I write this I’m on my final flight segment from Chile via Texas to L.A.
Time to store the winter clothes, 4×3 wetsuits, booties,and bust out the board shorts. It’s going to feel awesome to warm up in Mexico after a month of chilly weather in Chile! Stay tuned for the Puerto Escondido update!
Aloha, Sterls